The Ed-Watch series is designed to increase access to information on what decisions are being made regarding public education in Clark County and Nevada.
Clark County School District Board of Trustees
What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The CCSD Trustees are publicly elected decision-makers for the school district. They are responsible for providing oversight to the Superintendent and establishing District-wide policy. Trustees are accountable to work with their communities to improve student achievement.
Click here to learn more and see a list of current Trustees
Click here to Find your Trustee District
How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Thursdays) at 5pm at the Edward A. Greer Education Center (Board Room): 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121.
Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings and agendas
Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar
Can community members engage at Trustee Meetings? Decision-making bodies benefit greatly from hearing public input and multiple perspectives. Community members can sign up to speak after the agenda has been posted– by calling the Board Office at (702) 799-1072 at least 3 hours before the scheduled meeting, or signing up in-person at the beginning of the meeting. Prior to each agenda item being voted on, speakers can share their perspective after the Board’s discussion and prior to the vote.
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting
Click here to see the meeting agenda
What happened at this meeting?
Public Comment
Members of the public provided testimony regarding the decision to eliminate the dean position in the Clark County School District.
Trustees Unanimously Approved the Consent Agenda
Consent agenda highlights:
- Approval of a settlement for $500K (click here to read about this in the Las Vegas Review-Journal).
- Grant applications and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), including:
- Immunize Nevada
- NSHE participation in FAFSA
- English Language Learner programs
Trustees Approved Members of the Sex Education Committee
The Sex Education Committee is charged with reviewing the content and materials to be used in units of instruction on the human reporductive system, STDs/STIs, and sexual responsibility. The committee also makes recommendations to the Superintendent, who then makes recommendations to Trustees.
The approved committee members are:
- Medicine/Nursing: Diane Elmore (District A)
- Counseling: Laura Deitsch (District E)
- Religion: Dr. S. S. Rogers (District C)
- Teacher: Jessica Maleskey (District A)
- Parents:
- Erin Bilbray Kohn (District F)
- Jodi Thornley (District B)
- Bonnie Pruneda (District B)
- Stephanie Valdez (District E)
- Stephanie Zinna (District G)
- Pupil: Arianna Ophir (District E)
Trustees Heard Updates from the Superintendent
Superintendent Jara provided a presentation to Trustees about recent budget changes. In addition to the $17 million savings from the removal of the dean position– a total of $7.4 million dollars will be reduced from the 2019-2020 budget from the following departments:
- College, Career, Equity and School Choice Office
- Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Unit
- Legal Services
Click here to see the presentation
Click here to read about this in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Alternative options (in lieu of cutting the dean positions) were to eliminate:
- Magnet programs
- Performing arts
- Athletics and athletic transportation
- Transportation for secondary schools
- Transportation for all students except those who the district is federally required to transport
Superintendent Jara also provided information on school safety initiatives that will take effect following the removal of all dean positions. Student safety efforts for the 2019-2020 school years include:
- 4 new canine officers
- An additional Resource Office for all high schools
- A reserve officer program
- Two staff training programs: Trauma 101 and De-escalation
Additionally, two new student support positions have been introduced:
- Student Success Project Facilitator
- Student Success Coordinator
These positions will be posted on June 28th, and principals can begin interviewing on July 3rd.
Trustees Approved Updates to CCSD Construction Bids Policy (7210) and the Purchasing Authority Policy (3311)
The construction bids policy addresses major differences that have occurred between construction bids and the final costs.
The following updates were made to the construction bids policy:
- Changing the designee from Assistant Superintendent to the Chief of Facilities
- Construction change orders cannot cumulatively exceed 3 percent of the original contract for new construction
- Changes in services cannot cumulatively exceed 5% of the original contract.
Click here to see the policy.
Corresponding changes were made to the Purchasing Authority Policy.
Board Approved Contract for COO and Chief of Staff
The new CCSD Chief Operating Officer is Michael Casey. Click here to see the contract.
The new CCSD Chief of Staff is Christopher Bernier. Click here to see the contract.
Potential Future Agenda Items:
- Feasibility of creating an Advisory Committee made up of in-school staff to advise the Superintendent.